Daughter of Madain Sari
by Goddess Eir
Summary: Faintly she heard a haunting melody echo in the ruins around her. It vibrated with beautiful clarity off the smooth crystal walls surrounding her. Her weary emerald eyes closed as she listened to the song. It wasn't until she reached up and felt the tears on her own face that she realized that it was she whom had sung the haunting melody.
1. Memoria

Hey Goddess Eir here just writing a story I had in my head for a while. Obviously from the title it is going to be centered around Eiko and be written from her perspective.  
disclaimer: I do not own any Final Fantasy or it's many characters or Nobuo Uematsu's songs.

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"Alone for awhile..." She didn't know how many times she had whispered that to herself. She had no concept of time here so there was no telling if this awhile would last forever. For here there was no sun, no moon, and no rest. There were only memories. Memories that haunted these great crystal caverns and ruins, both hers and the countless memories of thousands of other lost souls. She no longer remembered what she searched for anymore, she merely moved from one place to the next. Her body no longer needing rest and yet feeling more weary and stretched with every passing second. She cannot remember the last time she slept, ate, nor cared about her appearance. She had forgotten what her face looked like, and if she was presented with a mirror to look upon a stranger would stare back at her.

While her own sense of being had become stagnant and forgotten she seemed to preoccupy her time with remembering her family. While all but a few were truly blood relations the bonds that bound them together and still held them together even if only in her memories were still strong. Their faces and voices still tickled in the corners of her conscious and she found herself searching in these vast dark and empty places for whatever remained of their love for her. She missed them all so dearly for they were her everything. And while she was alone for now one day she would join them in eternity but only when her time was truly done. For now her duty was to bear their memories and dreams upon her shoulders. To protect their legacy and her own power as well as those that were gifted to her upon her flight into this endless expanse.

Faintly she heard a haunting melody echo in the ruins around her. It vibrated with beautiful clarity off the smooth crystal walls surrounding her. Her weary emerald eyes closed as she listened to the song,

"Alone for a while I've been searching through the dark,  
For traces of the love you left inside my lonely heart,  
To weave by picking up the pieces that remain,  
Melodies of life- love's lost refrain.

Our paths they did cross, though I cannot say just why  
We met, we laughed, we held on fast, and then we said goodbye  
And who'll hear the echoes of stories never told?  
Let them ring out loud till they unfold

In my dearest memories,  
I see you reaching out to me  
Though you're gone,  
I still believe that you can call out my name

A voice from the past, joining yours and mine  
Adding up the layers of harmony  
And so it goes, on and on  
Melodies of life  
To the sky beyond the flying birds- forever and beyond…"

It wasn't until she reached up and felt the tears on her own face that she realized that it was she whom had sung the haunting melody. Her own Melodies of life that left her heart so bare and exposed. She savored these tears for now; here in this endless expanse of Memoria Eiko Carol rarely felt such sentimental emotions and thoughts.

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Please review and like the story. Constructive criticism is much appreciated.


	2. Soldier Boy

Goddes Eir here with the second chapter. The first one was more of a prologue and this is where things start moving a little quicker. Remember I am writing this from Eiko's perspective so they are her thoughts.  
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy, the many characters the games contain, nor Nobuo Umeatsu's music.

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Eiko Carol never was much of a pessimist back in the day. In fact she could be considered an opportunist, but she would be darned if Zidane did not affect her wish his darn infectious positivity and optimism. She couldn't even count the number of days, months, and heaven forbid years she had spent trapped here in Memoria. Yet even not knowing that she still pressed on through the ruins and shambles of all that was' hoping to find the way back out again. She had helped Zidane combat and defeat Necron, the great gate master and conduit of all souls through the world. If she could beat that she could take on anything. Her melancholy mood was rather improved she noted as she entered into a new labyrinth of buildings.

They all had a rather foreign flair to them. Not made of stone or even the crystal expanses of Memoria she was more accustomed to seeing, but rather metal. Some looked as if they had once been tall, reaching high up into the sky. Now they were emaciated and wilting to one side or the other, but she could only imagine them as they once looked in all their glory. Among these jagged metal buildings a solitary stone building stood, a church perhaps? Yes, it stood in somewhat in a disarray, but she could glimpse what remained of painted glass in the front grand window. Her natural curiosity was piqued and she carefully walked to the building. A lone oak door missing its companion greeted her as it tipped precariously to one side held on the door frame by a single hinge.

She ducked through the opening and came into a wood paneled chamber with patches missing where a lush grass peaked through as if reaching toward a sun above them. Looking through the patches of the high wooden roof she noted the sky was still the stormy mass of dull clouds that she had become used to in this area. Her face twitched into a foreign gesture with the corner of her lips stretching upwards into a soft smile as she saw straight ahead through the broken remains of the pews that littered the floor to be greeted by a great multitude of flowers growing up through a large section of missing floorboards. In her sheer delight to see such beauty she found herself sprinting forward in a light, sure-footed run. She threw herself with a painful thump to her knees at the edge of the floorboards as she reached out and delicately touched one of the flowering lilies. Such vibrant beauty she had not seen in the cold crystal and stone expanses of Memoria.

She was awakened from her delight by a creaking of aged wood and the dull thump of two boots hitting the ground behind her. Instantly her mind was on high alert and she reached her hand into her well-worn leather pouch to draw out her Angel Flute. She fingered it with delicate hands as she waited till the boots had clunked toward her and the sound ceased directly behind her.

"You shouldn't be here." It was a statement not a request; this man was asking her to leave. He had a deep voice and a heavy step she noted as she turned around she came gracefully to a standing position.

"And you really should not be so uncivilized and unaccommodating." She snapped back her voice and wit a bit scratchy and dull from misuse. He was large and muscular with a softly angled rectangular face. Haunting blue-green eyes stared at her from under an unruly mop of golden hair that reminded her of a chocobo. Her lips twitched up a bit and then flattened again as she took stock of the large sword strapped to his back. It was huge and cumbersome looking as if it was more for blunt force trauma rather than cutting his enemies. 'It was probably why his footsteps were so heavy' she mused. She noted his sparse armor consisting of one shoulder pauldron and a mildly protective heavy leather belt around his waist. Either he was very tough or very foolish she decided. Her eyes snapped back up to his now irritated eyes that appeared to be assessing her as well.

"This place is not yours to waltz into and stake a claim. Leave now." He stated his hand appearing to itch toward his sword as a warning she supposed. As if he needed to move towards it to draw attention to that monstrosity.

Eiko scoffed, "Not much of a people person are you?" a sardonic smile alighted her face, "where I come from we have a thing called hospitality that is extended to guests. Although I would hardly consider anyone of true ownership of these memories." She finished with a humorless laugh

His eyebrows drew together in confusion as he asked "Memories? I don't understand what you mean?"

It had been too long since she had seen let alone talked to another being, that she supposed she couldn't help herself from responding to him now. "Didn't you know?" She asked with a mockingly melodramatic voice "You are here in Memoria, the place of memories!" Eiko exclaimed with a flourish. "Here everything is created by the memories of those that wander here and those that have died. I would hardly deign to claim ownership of anything here." She let her statement sink in, and upon seeing his face become distant and cold she felt a mix of shame and pity. She could have left him here content in his solitude as he seemed to prefer it, and yet she had to go and rearrange his whole perception of this world.

"So I am not dead then…? I have not become part of the Lifestream..." he murmured more to himself than her.

She softly reached out to lay a comforting hand on him and then drew it back as she thought better of it, "I am sorry for having to tell you this. I have not heard anything of the Lifestream before but people name things differently. I have only heard this place referred to as Memoria."

"Who are you?" His eyes sharply flickered up to her more intense that they were a second ago. The intensity caused her to step back a bit and hear the crunch of a perfect flower under her foot.

Frantically she turned around crouching down and cupping the crumpled flower between her hands and as she drew it to her chest. Yet gazing upon it she could not find a more fitting flower for her. It was as broken as she was yet she could see that it had once been vibrant and strong, and that is probably what made it appear so tragic to her now. Clasping it to her chest she turned back to him staring at him with eyes that were guileless and clear "my name is Eiko Carol and I am the last daughter of Madain Sari."

He nodded his own eyes seeming to glow more intensely than they had. "My name is Cloud Strife, Soldier 1st class" he stated his lips tilting up at the end as if there was something humorous about what he had just stated.

She smiled the first true smile she had in many years "Nice to meet you Soldier!" She winked at him and drew his hand into her own for a firm shake. And just like that the red sting of fate bound them more tightly together than either of them had even imagined.

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Please rate and review. constructive criticism is appreciated.


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